The World Cup hosts finish the group stage with nine wins from nine matches after beating the Netherlands by 160 runs in Bengaluru
Match Report:
ScorecardIndia crush Netherlands to finish group stage unbeaten
Shreyas Iyer and KL Rahul have both smashed hundreds as World Cup hosts India geared up for the semi-finals with a crushing 160-run victory over the Netherlands to keep their 100 per cent win record for the tournament intact.
After their top-order colleagues had departed following breezy fifties on a good M Chinnaswamy Stadium track on Sunday, Iyer (128no) struck his fourth ODI ton before Rahul (102) exploded as the duo lit up the stage on the Hindu festival of Diwali to get India to 4-410.
Requiring a record World Cup chase to win, the bottom-placed Dutch side got good starts from Max O'Dowd (30), Colin Ackermann (35), Sybrand Engelbrecht (45) and Teja Nidamanuru (54) but never threatened and were dismissed for 250 in 47.5 overs.
Mohammed Siraj (2-29) overcame a throat injury, suffered when he dropped a catch, starring alongside Kuldeep Yadav (2-41), Jasprit Bumrah (2-33) and Ravindra Jadeja (2-49) to secure victory for India, who face New Zealand in Mumbai in the first semi-final on Wednesday.
Iyer reached his century in 84 balls and finished with 10 fours and five sixes while Rahul needed only 62 balls for his ton, getting there with two huge sixes in the last over that took India past 400.
The duo forged a 208-run partnership – the highest fourth-wicket stand in World Cups – as India scored 126 runs in their final 10 overs to post the tournament's third total above 400.
India put the Netherlands to the sword after winning the toss and opting to bat as skipper Rohit Sharma (61) and Shubman Gill (51) smashed boundaries at will to give the hosts a superb platform with 91 in the powerplay.
Gill was severe on the bowlers with three fours and four sixes, but the world's top-ranked ODI batter found the fielder in the deep while taking on a short delivery from Paul van Meekeren after reaching his 12th half-century.
The Netherlands chipped away and were rewarded when Bas de Leede had Rohit caught at wide long-on, but Kohli (51) and Iyer took India past 200 runs in the 29th over with a 71-run stand.
Kohli delighted the crowd with a wide array of shots after a shaky start to his quest to reach 50 ODI tons and eclipse Sachin Tendulkar's record, but Roelof van der Merwe briefly silenced fans by breaking his stumps with a flatter one.
India then shared the overs around with the ball, with Kohli and Rohit each taking a wicket, while Gill and Suryakumar Yadav also got a bowl as their frontline quicks rested.
While India topped the group stage standings for the second consecutive 50-over World Cup, the loss leaves the Netherlands bottom of the 10-team competition meaning they missed out on qualification for 2025 ICC Champions Trophy in Pakistan.
2023 World Cup finals
November 15: First semi-final, India v New Zealand, Mumbai (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 16: Second semi-final, South Africa v Australia, Kolkata (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
November 19: Final, Ahmedabad (D/N), 7.30pm AEDT
| Team | M | W | L | T | N/R | NRR | Ded. | PTS |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1
IND
|
9 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2.57 | 0 | 18 |
|
2
SA
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 1.261 | 0 | 14 |
|
3
AUS
|
9 | 7 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.841 | 0 | 14 |
|
4
NZ
|
9 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 0.743 | 0 | 10 |
|
5
PAK
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.199 | 0 | 8 |
|
6
AFG
|
9 | 4 | 5 | 0 | 0 | -0.336 | 0 | 8 |
|
7
ENG
|
9 | 3 | 6 | 0 | 0 | -0.572 | 0 | 6 |
|
8
BAN
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.087 | 0 | 4 |
|
9
SL
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.419 | 0 | 4 |
|
10
NED
|
9 | 2 | 7 | 0 | 0 | -1.825 | 0 | 4 |
M: Matches played
W: Wins
L: Losses
T: Ties
N/R: No results
NRR: Net Run Rate
Ded.: Deductions
PTS: Total points